Jordan would do it all again after 34 years

HAMPTON — Sit down with Police Chief Charles "Chuck" Jordan and odds are he'll try to find out what drives you.

While some people call him controlling, Jordan doesn't think of himself that way. He can't micromanage a department of 283 officers. "At the end of the day, you have to trust people," Jordan said.

That's why during his more than eight and a half years as chief, Jordan concentrated his efforts on developing officers, he said. He said he weeds out those who don't meet high professionalism standards. He has zero-tolerance for "punks with a badge."

"You lie, you get fired," Jordan said. "Integrity is important to us."

That's why when a trusted officer expressed concern about the Hampton Police Division's undercover cigarette operation, Jordan said, "I took some extreme measures to ensure the public's trust, to include immediately stopping the operation when the allegations came to light and calling in the Virginia State Police to conduct an independent criminal investigation."

Civic leaders are now calling for Jordan and the city to answer questions.

"We want the truth," said Rudy Langford, president of the Coalition for Justice for Civil Rights. "The citizens should go to council and ask questions. What is the truth?"

The division and police chief have come under scrutiny several times in the past year. Officers recently complained to City Council members about favoritism and other internal issues. Langford and the coalition continue to air complaints about how officers treat residents, pointing to the shooting death of a man during a police raid in 2011.

"Chief Jordan is not unique among chiefs if there are concerns and complaints," said Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. "Every chief deals with them."

Jordan's predecessor, Police Chief Thomas H. Townsend, agreed that the job is a stressful one. Employees can make mistakes and the chief must make tough decisions about employee discipline.

"You have an awesome responsibility as a police officer but particularly as the chief of police," said Townsend, who was chief from January 2000 to January 2004. "It's a 24-hour, 365-day a year job. It never leaves you."

Work style

Colleagues call Chief Chuck Jordan "high energy." The restless small-framed police chief keeps his mobile phone in hand to stay linked to what his officers are doing and what's happening in the city. He misses his days patrolling on foot.

When Jordan witnessed a drug deal while he was with Phoebus Neighborhood Watch members more than two years ago, he sent a text and kept his eyes on the suspect until officers arrived at the scene, recalled Mary Lou Howard, the neighborhood watch's past vice president. He didn't want to put residents in harm's way.

Another time, she saw Jordan turn on the lights in his unmarked car and pull over a vehicle speeding beyond the posted 25 mph limit.

"You can't be more hands-on than the police chief pulling someone over and giving them a ticket," Howard said.

Jordan, 56, was born and raised in Hampton. He is a product of both the city and the department where he has spent the past 34 1/2 years. He switched his college major from finance to criminal justice after the bank where he was working got robbed.

When asked about his career goal during a job interview with the Hampton Police in 1978, Jordan said he would like to be police chief one day.

"Every day I think, 'I can do it better,'" Jordan said.

Jordan doesn't flaunt the fact that he is chief of police. On his first day, he removed the police chief parking sign out front. He parks across the street. He pops in and out of his employee's work sites unannounced. He doesn't hold press conferences. Aside from the name on his shirt, you wouldn't know the bald man wearing a police uniform was the chief.

That is until he talks to you.

Jordan enjoys academic or even loquacious philosophical discussions about police work. He seeks to understand the bigger picture, which is why he pursued a master's degree in urban studies, or community planning. Driving around the city in his unmarked police car, Jordan wondered about the future uses of Fort Monroe or how public safety fits into Hampton's economic development. His friends said that he "cares deeply" about the police department and the city of Hampton.

He explained the best way to ensure high standards is selectivity in hiring, ongoing training and instilling dedication to higher principles through a strong "organizational culture," Jordan said. On a regular visit to the Hampton police academy at Fort Monroe, Jordan explained that instructors ingrain core principles like honesty because their job ranges from social worker to protector.

To longtime friend Greg Garrett who grew up in Hampton and now lives in York County, Jordan is all about "family, God, hard work, integrity and being a good neighbor."